Student Competition: Retrofit of an Existing Institutional Building

Competition Opens: February 3, 2025
Competition Closes: June 27, 2025

Background

Buildings account for about one-third of global energy consumption and about one-quarter of global carbon dioxide emissions. Retrofitting buildings provides an opportunity to enhance the energy efficiency and occupant comfort of existing structures and will play a key role in reducing Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions.

This student competition focuses the retrofit of existing institutional buildings on university campuses. The client (the University) aims to improve the thermal performance of the building enclosure through a re-clad or over-clad project while improving the aesthetics of the building, establishing it as new campus icon and reflecting aspirations for the University in the years to come.

Competition Tasks

You will need to pick an existing institutional building on campus that was constructed or had major retrofit at least 40 years ago. The building should be multi-use, with at least three unique functions (such as offices, classrooms, tutorial rooms, lab spaces, studios, theatres, or shops), a footprint of at least 900 m², and a minimum of three floors. Once the building is selected, you will need to consider how this building can be improved based on the existing building drawings, your own experiences studying in the building, or any field measurements you might have access to. Then, design a replacement or additional enclosure for the building, while preserving its interior and current functions. 

For your design, identify and rank at least three priorities, such as daylighting, thermal performance, airtightness, energy efficiency, sustainable materials, aesthetics, durability, budget, speed of construction, limiting occupant disruptions. If you need to make any assumptions about the building, clearly state them in your submission.

Your tasks include the following:

  1. Review and analyze the existing drawings of the building. Define the scope of enclosure retrofit based on the available information.
  2. Identify all key components of the building enclosure and comment on their performance. Highlight any areas where you think a control function (water, air, vapour, or heat) might be underperforming. 
  3. Complete thermal performance calculation for the existing enclosure using the parallel path method for walls, roofs and windows. Include assumptions or calculations for R values based on a reliable resource (please provide APA style references for all referenced material).
  4. Design an updated enclosure (re-clad or over-clad) that improves the existing enclosure and aligns your ranked priorities.
  5. Complete thermal performance calculation for the updated enclosure and determine the percentage improvement in terms of heat flow reduction.
  6. Discuss air barrier and vapour retarder types, location within the building enclosure and rationale for choice.
  7. Provide drawings of the proposed enclosure including:
    a. A foundation-to-roof section cut through windows (1:50)
    b.  Wall-to-roof detail (1:5)
    c. Wall-to-window detail (1:5)
    d.  An overall building 3D image that show the relationships between the ground, your retrofit, and surrounding buildings if applicable
  8. Present your design and analysis in a professional 10-minute video presentation to the client outline the proposed retrofit and its objectives.
 

References 

Please list all references in APA format and included them in the appendix and/or the presentation slides, as required. FALIURE TO PROVIDE PROPER REFERENCES MAY BE CONSTRUED AS PLAGARISM AND MAY GET YOU DISQUALIFIED. 

Submission Format and Timelines

  1. February 3, 2025: Register your “Intent to Submit” here
  2. June 27, 2025: Video presentation and appendices due.
    a. Video to be a maximum of 10 minutes.
    b. Videos can be sent via the student’s choice of a file transfer system to info@obec.on.ca by 5:00 PM EST June 16.  Please also send an email to info@bsao.ca advising the file was sent. 
    c. Maximum 12 slides to be covered in the presentation. 
    d. Appendices (submitted in PDF format) to include, but not limited to, calculations, literature review, HOT2000 report printouts, bibliography, etc. 
  3. July 2025: Judging of submissions by the external panel of building science and educational experts. 
  4. August 15, 2025: Winners notified.
  5. October 8, 2025: Winning group will present their design and analysis at the BSAO Fall Seminar & AGM – Empowering Tomorrow: Where Sustainability Meets Energy Efficiency.  The event is being held at Venu Event Space, 2800 Hwy 7, Vaughan, ON.  The winning group will present at 9:30 am.

Register your “Intent to Submit” here

Prizes

  1. The winning team receives complimentary registration for all teammates (max 5 students) to the BSAO Fall Seminar & AGM where you will present your winning proposed retrofit to over 100 industry peers.
  2. TV monitor in conference foyer displaying the initial submission (yes, your submission could be viewed by hundreds of industry peers, not just the judging panel!)
  3. Table in foyer for team to display other items on the project or about the winning team.
  4. Opportunity to write re-cap story of competition experience/conference (Team showcase) for the BSAO Magazine - Pushing the Envelope Canada – spring 2025 edition

*Applicants are responsible for any travel expenses.